Coastal Kitchen finishes year undefeated; Burdick, Rosso each take division trophy
Three divisions of Rainier Little League concluded their seasons with exciting post-season playoff action this past week, with the Majors and Minors tournaments being played in a double-elimination format and the Rookies going at it in a single-elimination playoff.
MAJORS DIVISION
Coastal Kitchen completed a rare undefeated season, claiming the Majors Division championship on June 9 with a 9-1 victory over Dr. Baker's Bracers at Rainier Playfield in a game played under cloudy skies and a steady rain.
Bradley Bloedel pitched a complete game for the victors and Joe Hardy smashed a bases loaded triple in the second inning to break the game open for Coastal Kitchen. Tyler Monroe started the game for Dr. Baker and pitched effectively, but his squad could not overcome some shaky infield defense in the early going.
Despite the team's 18-0 season record, it was hardly a cakewalk for coach Chris Jalbert's Coastal Kitchen squad. During the regular season, the Kitchen won four games by one run and nabbed three more by two.
Earlier in the playoffs, Stewart Lumber battled the eventual champions into extra innings before succumbing 5-4. Azor Cole did his best to power Stewart Lumber to an upset, swatting a towering home run early in the game. Coastal Kitchen was led by Connor Jalbert, who tripled in the second inning and was then brought home on a RBI single by Imani Artis. Coastal's Janarro Ealy-Peredo knocked in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 7th.
In the semi-finals, the pitching tag team of Bloedel and Ealy-Peredo powered Coastal to a 5-4 victory over Dr. Baker's Bracers; it was the third time the champions defeated the tournament's eventual runner-ups by one run this season. That game set up the championship showdown with Dr. Baker on Saturday, which Coastal won handily.
MINORS DIVISION
Burdick's Security's Janak Preston and Ben Koerner pitched five effective innings to lead the Burdick's Security Black Hawks to a 9-3 win over Kohl Construction and the Minors Division title on June 10 at Rainier Playfield. The powerful Black Hawks line-up pounded out five runs in the first inning on a succession of hard hit, deep balls.
In the fifth inning, Arielle Marie-Antonio-one of several female players in the league-walked, stole second, went to third on a force-out and then scored on a wild throw to clinch the victory for the Black Hawks. Henry Knight pitched valiantly in defeat.
The Black Hawks reached the finals by defeating reigning champs Genesee Fuel 8-4, behind a gutsy pitching performance by Jonathan Sassoon and dominant relief by Nils Whisman, who in only one inning of work recorded three strikeouts in 10 pitches.
The Hawks finished with a regular season record of 14-2, their only losses coming mid-season in back-to-back games against Nelson Trucking. Nelson Trucking, however, which finished a close fourth in the league, could not make it out of the second round of the playoffs, losing two one-run playoff games in the final inning of play.
Genesee Fuel made it to the quarterfinals but lost 9-3 to Kohl, the tournament's eventual runner-up. All-City Fence rode its first-round thriller over Nelson Trucking deep into the tournament, only to be eliminated by Kohl. Although Kohl was one of the league's younger teams, the talented squad finished the season 13-5-1 to capture second place both in the regular season and the post-season tourneys.
ROOKIES DIVISION
The Rosso Nursery Dragons on June 8 avenged their only two losses of the season with a thrilling 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Golf Savings Bank in the Rookies Division championship. With two outs in the bottom of the final inning, Rosso trailed the previously undefeated Golf team by a score of 4-1 before rallying for the victory. Arius "Big Boy" Willis had the big hit for Rosso, smacking a triple to tie the game. Cassius Pumphrey and Geno Rosso followed with hits of their own to push their team in front. Rosso closer Deshawn Connoir closed the door on Golf to preserve the win.
Golf Savings starting pitcher Kenny McCormick turned in one of the best pitching performances of year to pace his team to an early lead, but it didn't last. The Dragons finished the season 12-2-1, while Golf Savings finished 13-1-2.
Coastal Kitchen and Rosso Nursery, as division winners, move on to the Tournament of Champions beginning June 15, as does Kohl Construction, who substitutes for Burdick's Security due to scheduling difficulties. The tournament will be held at Normandy Park Little League Fields in Normandy Park.[[In-content Ad]]
